Chapter 13: The Winds Shift in Chen Zixiu’s Case
At the scene, whether it was Chen Bai, Qi Zheng, or Crown Prince Jiao, all their expressions turned slightly strange.
It could be said that they were all connected to this matter. Chen Bai and Crown Prince Jiao were the direct parties involved, while the court’s judgment had been the result of Qi Zheng’s mediation behind the scenes.
By choosing this question, Shang Wangshu might not have been without the intention of chastising the two princes.
Fair or unfair?
Anyone with eyes could tell that it was definitely unfair. Chen Zixiu had committed such a grave and shameless crime, yet in the end he had merely been sent to Shangjing Academy to continue studying and reform himself.
Who did not know that Chen Zixiu had already been a student of Shangjing Academy to begin with? How was this any different from no punishment at all?
But… this was not something just anyone dared to say out loud. How could a judgment already concluded by the court be casually overturned?
Behind Crown Prince Jiao, a middle-aged man dressed like a scholar looked toward him. This man was named Yang Wei, and he was the retainer in the Crown Prince’s residence most skilled in law.
Crown Prince Jiao nodded.
Only then did Yang Wei step forward and cup his hands toward Shang Wangshu. “This judgment is unfair.”
Hiss!
The people around them could not help widening their eyes. He truly dared to say it.
“According to Article Fifty of Great Qian’s law…”
Yang Wei did indeed have some ability. He knew the Great Qian legal code like the back of his hand and could recite it at once.
He recited, word for word, the clauses Chen Bai had violated, and even analyzed with clear reasoning what the sentence should have been.
Everyone around them nodded repeatedly as they listened.
“That shameless Chen Zixiu should have been punished exactly like this.”
“Only his reputation was ruined, yet he did not receive the punishment he deserved. Truly hateful.”
After Yang Wei finished speaking, he cupped his hands in salute, then looked toward Chen Bai with some arrogance.
He had already said everything that needed to be said. He truly could not imagine anything else that needed to be added.
The people around them also thought that even if Prince Zheng’s retainer said the judgment was unfair, he would probably only be repeating Yang Wei’s words.
Crown Prince Jiao’s expression improved slightly. How could they not win this round?
Qi Zheng also frowned. If he had not intervened, the original judgment would indeed have been exactly as Yang Wei had said, without the slightest deviation.
Shang Wangshu looked at Chen Bai. “The other side has already answered. It is your turn.”
Chen Bai cupped his hands, ignored the contemptuous insults around him, and said directly, “The judgment… was wrong.”
Everyone: “…”
The judgment was wrong?
What did that mean?
Probably only Shang Wangshu understood what Chen Bai meant to express. He was not saying whether it was fair or unfair, but that the judgment itself had been wrong from the beginning.
He frowned slightly. He had originally thought that Chen Bai would merely repeat some of Yang Wei’s words.
Chen Bai said directly, “Everyone says Chen Zixiu disgraced the imperial family’s reputation and lost all morality. But what evidence is there?”
The moment those words came out, it was as if he had poked a hornet’s nest. Without waiting for Shang Wangshu to speak, the surrounding crowd became agitated.
“He climbed into Crown Prince Jiao’s bed in front of everyone and did such a shameless thing. How is that not evidence?”
“For you to still argue on behalf of such a morally corrupt person is simply outrageous!”
“He was dragged down from Crown Prince Jiao’s bed in front of countless people. So many people saw it with their own eyes. Is that not evidence?”
“…”
The crowd was indignant and worked up. Every voice was a denunciation, just as before.
Chen Bai’s voice rose as well. “Did Chen Zixiu ever admit that he climbed into the bed of his own accord?”
Indeed, he had not admitted it. It was said that he had even argued on the spot, but the more he argued, the harder the whip fell. He had been lashed until his flesh was torn open, looking utterly miserable, and only after he fainted did the matter temporarily come to an end.
Chen Bai continued, “The so-called evidence you speak of is nothing more than everyone seeing Chen Zixiu being dragged down from the bed. But did even one person see him climb onto it himself?”
“Stop quibbling. If he did not climb up himself, could someone else have forced him onto it?”
The corners of Chen Bai’s mouth lifted. Had someone finally considered that possibility? Though that person had only mentioned it mockingly.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Crown Prince Jiao and saw that Crown Prince Jiao’s face had stiffened almost imperceptibly.
Chen Bai followed up, “Why would that be impossible?”
Everyone froze.
“Of course it’s impossible. Crown Prince Jiao personally said that Chen Zixiu was shameless and tried to seduce him first.”
The surrounding voices were chaotic, as though they all had to argue the matter clearly with Chen Bai.
Yet even amid such noise, Chen Bai’s voice remained exceptionally clear. Because his volume was so high, it even sounded sharp and piercing.
“You believe Crown Prince Jiao’s one-sided account, yet why do you refuse to believe Chen Zixiu’s defense at the time? They are both parties involved in this case!”
His words struck the ground like iron.
They forcibly made the surrounding voices stop in an instant.
This… was this questioning whether Crown Prince Jiao had lied?
Heavens, everyone’s hearts could not help trembling as they listened. This person did not want his life anymore. He truly dared say anything. One shocking statement followed another.
“How presumptuous!” At that moment, Yang Wei, who stood behind Crown Prince Jiao, rebuked him. “What status does Crown Prince Jiao have? How could his words be false?”
Chen Bai laughed. He laughed loudly, with particular sarcasm, then suddenly looked toward everyone.
“Among those present, there are commoners, merchants, meritorious nobles, people of noble status, and people of ordinary status. But one thing is certain: there must still be people in this world whose status is higher than yours.”
“A landlord has higher status than a tenant farmer. For the tenant farmers present, can a landlord decide whether you are right or wrong with a single sentence? Would you accept that?”
“Nobles have higher status than landlords. For the landlords present, can they also decide your crimes and your life and death with just one sentence, without any evidence?”
“Scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants; three, six, nine ranks of people. As long as someone’s status is one level higher, can they use that to judge right and wrong?”
“If the words of those with noble status cannot be false, if status alone can decide everyone’s right and wrong, then what use does Great Qian have for law? We might as well burn the law code to ashes right now.”
Utter silence.
“If none of you are willing to accept this, then why was Chen Zixiu’s case decided rashly based only on the words of one person?”
Dead silence.
In the end, the judgment in Chen Zixiu’s case had been made because the court had listened only to Crown Prince Jiao’s side of the story.
And Crown Prince Jiao… was also a party involved.
It was only that before, because of Crown Prince Jiao’s status, no one had ever doubted him.
Now, someone had merely torn through that layer of paper.
Chen Bai threw out another line. “Has no one ever wondered why Chen Zixiu happened to climb into the bed, and just happened to be discovered by countless people on the spot? How stupid would Chen Zixiu have to be to do such a thing in front of so many people?”
Dead silence.
Something that had seemed perfectly logical before, now, upon closer thought, did indeed contain far too many coincidences.
Just then, Yang Wei laughed aloud. “According to you, Crown Prince Jiao was the one who wronged Chen Zixiu? The Crown Prince of Great Qian wagered his own reputation just to frame Chen Zixiu?”
This was also the one point Chen Bai could not understand.
On the other hand, Shang Wangshu seemed to have thought of something. His brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, and he looked thoughtfully at Crown Prince Jiao.
Crown Prince Jiao still wore a look of virtuous composure. Only he himself could hear the sound of his teeth grinding.
He probably had never dreamed that today, instead of laughing at someone else’s disgrace, he would have his own foundation exposed. More importantly, he could not show that he cared too much, lest he truly be dragged into the water.
People with guilty consciences naturally had more misgivings than ordinary people. Otherwise, with Chen Bai’s words just now, he could have had him charged with defying orthodoxy and morality.
Moreover, this was a formal contest presided over by Duke Shang. Crown Prince Jiao could not rely on his status to do anything, much less leave in anger.
Chen Bai also ignored Crown Prince Jiao and cupped his hands toward Shang Wangshu. “Therefore, in Chen Zixiu’s case, there was insufficient evidence, and the party involved did not confess. The result was merely based on listening to and believing one side’s account. The judgment was far too… childish and arbitrary.”
Uproar.
One had to know that Chen Zixiu had already been reduced to a street rat whom everyone shouted at and wanted beaten. The spit of public opinion alone could drown him. In everyone’s eyes, Chen Zixiu’s future had already been destroyed. If his skin had not been thick enough to walk around everywhere, perhaps he would never have seen the light again in this life.
Now someone was actually questioning whether the judgment was wrong?
But what this person said might not be without reason. In the end, in this case, only Crown Prince Jiao had spoken. No one had been willing to listen to what Chen Zixiu had to say.
The crowd began discussing heatedly, each holding to their own opinion.
This was Chen Bai’s goal today: to plant a seed of doubt in everyone’s heart.
Whether these people believed it or not, in the future, whenever this case was mentioned again, he wanted them to suspect that Crown Prince Jiao might also have lied.
Right now, he was actually only defending himself based on his own side of the story. He had no evidence to prove that Crown Prince Jiao had lied.
But one day, he would clear his own name.
The scene was like a drop of oil falling into a pot of clear water, boiling with noise. No doubt, before even one day passed, the events of today would spread throughout Shangjing.
Crown Prince Jiao probably had never imagined such a situation. The virtuous expression on his face looked as strange as it could possibly look.
The surrounding crowd had likely never expected that Chen Zixiu’s case, which had already been concluded, would unexpectedly take such a turn.
Who knew how many gazes had fallen on Crown Prince Jiao? The meaning behind those gazes was truly intriguing.
Chen Bai sneered inwardly. What was this compared to what he had suffered? It did not reach even one ten-thousandth of the humiliation of being watched like a monkey, casually belittled, and insulted by others.
This was only collecting a little interest.
His heart felt much lighter. At the very least, from now on, whenever Chen Zixiu’s name was mentioned, Crown Prince Jiao could no longer remain untouched. How could Chen Bai be the only one to bear this harm?
At that moment, Yang Wei suddenly spoke. “Duke Shang asked whether the judgment in Chen Zixiu’s case was fair or unfair. When did he ask you whether it was right or wrong? You simply answered something completely irrelevant.”
Chen Bai smiled. Changing the subject? Unfortunately for them, his goal had already been achieved.
Shang Wangshu sighed. After all, Crown Prince Jiao was Great Qian’s heir apparent. As an old minister, if Shang Wangshu truly did nothing, it would be difficult for him to explain himself before the Emperor.
He raised his hand to quiet everyone and said to Chen Bai, “Answer the question first.”
This was tacitly agreeing with Yang Wei that Chen Bai’s answer had strayed from the topic. It could also be counted as easing Crown Prince Jiao’s awkward situation.
Sure enough, everyone’s attention was drawn back, and their gazes turned toward Chen Bai.
Chen Bai thought for a moment and answered with one word.
“Fair.”
If one looked only at the result, the judgment against him was equivalent to having no punishment at all. Of course it was fair.
Everyone: “…”
The question was asking, if those charges were established, whether the sentence was fair or not.
How could it possibly be fair?
What was going on with this person? He clearly seemed quite intelligent, so how had he suddenly become unable to distinguish right from wrong?
Crown Prince Jiao finally let out a breath. At least he had won this round and recovered a little face.
Shang Wangshu also looked at Chen Bai in some surprise. “Why? Explain your reasoning.”
Chen Bai smiled and had someone bring paper and brush.
“My answer can only be seen by Duke Shang alone.”
“Once Duke Shang sees it, he will know that I am certain to win this round.”
Everyone: “…”
Absolutely impossible. Yang Wei had already explained very clearly how the Great Qian legal code would sentence this.
Crown Prince Jiao was probably the most nervous one. If he lost again, where would his dignity remain? He did not even know how the streets would spread the story of today.
